Avatar: Legend of the Maelstrom
by RyoshiMorino
Summary: As the two incarnations clash for a final time, the Sage of Six Paths intervenes, sending Naruto and Kurama to a strange world where Chi is used to manipulate the elements instead of chakra is used for jutsu. What's more is that something strange has happened to Naruto, and neither he or Kurama can figure out why they were sent away in the first place.
1. Chapter 1

_**Ladies, gentlemen, and children of all ages, I present to you my latest spark of insanity without due explanation (as I've said multiple times, I'm clearly insane), so here we go.**_

_**Summary: As the two incarnations clash for a final time, the Sage of Six Paths intervenes, sending Naruto and Kurama to a strange world where Chi is used to manipulate the elements instead of chakra is used for jutsu. What's more is that something strange has happened to Naruto, and neither he or Kurama can figure out why they were sent away in the first place. Can the pair return to their own world, or are they destined to remain in their new home with a feisty young woman that could roast, freeze, drown, or crush the blond if she lost her temper?**_

_**1: Republic City, Korra and Naruto's Recipe for Disaster pt.1**_

* * *

><p>In his Tailed-Beast sage form, Naruto lept at the last Uchiha, two Rasenshuriken primed in his hands even as Sasuke came at him with an Amaterasu enhanced Chidori. Kurama's voice cautioned him, yet he couldn't hear the fox, as he was finally prepared to end it all between them. If hatred had been their beginning as Ashura and Indara, it would be their end as Naruto and Sasuke.<p>

As the cloak faded away, leaving Naruto vulnerable, he was blinded by a massive white void appearing in front of him, and before he could stop himself, he was swallowed by it, as was Sasuke and everything around them.

Naruto landed on his feet, staggering slightly from exhaustion. Looking around him, he found himself still in the expanse of white. "What the hell?"

"Naruto?" A voice rumbled beside him.

The blond turned and found Kurama, much smaller than he usually was, about the size of a large dog, looking up at him in wonder, "Kurama? Where the heck did you come from?"

The fox shrugged his shoulders, "I haven't got a clue." He said truthfully, "The last thing I remember was being trapped in that blasted jutsu that bastard of an Uchiha used on the Tailed-Beasts. Then a bright flash of light, and here we are talking about it."

"Yeah," Naruto said nodding, "Same here. I was just about to clash with Sasuke, but that light swallowed me up...hang on, we're not dead, right?"

Kurama sighed with sweatdrop appearing on his head, "Don't be ridiculous. I'm a living entity of pure chakra. I can't die!"

Naruto stretched up and looked around once more, "Then how do you explain all this white? Kinda looks like that light at the end of the tunnel thing people always talk about, you know?"

"Sorta," Kurama nodded, slightly panicked, "But how did - "

Suddenly the white faded away, and the pair started to fall. Naruto yelled in panic, and clung to the fox, "Great, now what?!"

"How the hell should I know!?" Kurama yelled back, both screaming in fright as the plummeted, "Do something!"

"What do you want me to do?!" Naruto yelled, tears streaming from his eyes from the wind whipping by them, "I used up all the chakra Geezer Sage gave me!"

"Well then think of something!" Kurama howled, "I can't fly!"

Naruto thought for a moment as they fell, "I've got an idea!"

"Let's hear it!" Kurama said desperately.

"Scream!"

"That's your plan?!" Kurama roared in frustration and started scratching at the blond's face, and suddenly the color returned to the world, and found themselves falling toward a lake surrounded by what looked like a park of some sort. Of course, to a falling person and animal, the last thing on their minds was the scenery.

"Aaaaaahhhhhh!" Both screamed as they splashed down into the lake, scaring bystanders, and lake dwelling...birds around them. Naruto came up sputtering, using his chakra to climb on top of the water while Kurama growled and swam towards the shore, shaking himself out, causing his fur to bush out, and giving him a rather fluffy appearance, though that effect was ruined by the snarl on his muzzle as he turned around to begin ringing out his nine tails.

"This has got to be the weirdest thing that's ever happened to us," Naruto grumbled as he stumbled onto the lake shore, plopping down on his rear. "What the hell's going on?"

"Hell if I know," Kurama snapped, finishing with his tails with a flick, "What I really want to know is why I'm fun-size instead of full-size!"

Naruto smirked at the irate fox, "Well, now that you mention that - "

"You start with any kind of cute and cuddly jokes," Kurama threatened with a snap of his teeth, "And so help me I'll bite off your fingers one by one!"

Naruto just snickered and fell flat on his back, still exhausted, "Take a joke once in a while, will ya?" He looked up at the sky. It was right around noon from the position of the sun. _It was daybreak when Sasuke and I fought. _He thought to himself. _Wonder what happened to him? _His thoughts were interrupted by a loud rumbling from both his, and Kurama's stomach.

"Man what I wouldn't give for some Ichiraku ramen right about now." Naruto sighed whistfully, clutching his stomach.

"I could eat a whole village right now," Kurama groaned, plopping down next to him.

For a while, silence reigned over them as they contemplated what to do. But both were having the same thoughts.

"Kurama?"

"What?"

"I've got a really bad feeling about all this." Naruto sighed as he picked himself up, and started across the park in search of something for them to eat. Hopefully the currency they had would be good here. Where ever they were.

"You and me both," Kurama said and padded after him, drawing all eyes to the strange pair. Poodle-monkeys and pladapus-bears they were used to, and sometimes the odd wolf-bat, but a large fox with nine bushy tails? Unheard of.

-|Meanwhile|-

"I've got a good feeling about this, Nagga," a young woman said to her mount, as she patted her side, "Get ready Republic City, the Avatar has arrived!"

=x=

Sometime later, after finding out that even his gold ryo coins were useless until he cashed them in for different currency, Naruto and Kurama were down on their luck and wandering around the city with empty bellies. Naruto eyed his fat frog wallet, saddened that none of the money was usable, "Man, we sure do have the worst luck, huh?"

"Maybe we can go back to that park and catch a few fish?" Kurama mumbled, though the tantalizing smells of food still made want run in and grab something. But stirring up trouble like that would most likely come back to bite them.

"Yeah, but we'd get in trouble if we did that," he'd noticed a lot of people dressed in what looked like metal armor sporting a badge over their left breast. Most likely the police force here. They didn't stand a chance against him, no, but he didn't want to cause unnecessary conflict. He was beginning to relive the vagabond days of his youth before the Third Hokage gave him his apartment.

"At least no one's staring at me," he mumbled remembering cold glares from the past.

Kurama huffed, "No surprise there, kid," he said watching as yet another odd creature passed them by, "With all the weird animals we've seen, a blond in rags and a fox shouldn't be all that interesting."

"Good point," Naruto said, watching the animal, what looked like a cross between an pig and a monkey, walk by with it's owner in tow. Another thing he noticed about this place was that no one seemed to be a ninja, or were even capable of using their chakra like he was. Sure, he could sense a certain Chi coming from some of them, but nothing like a ninja would have.

Suddenly, while he wasn't paying attention, a passerby knocked into him. Naruto was about to apologize to the man, but he felt his hand slip inside his jacket pocket. Naruto growled and gripped the offending appendage, glaring at the man. "Scram, or I'll break your arm!"

That did it, and the would-be thief turned tail and ran back down the street. Naruto sighed, "Not like it would have done any good. My money's no good here."

"We could always steal something?" Kurama suggested halfheartedly, though he knew the boy would never do so, "Or what if we go down to the docks and fish?"

"With what?" Naruto asked.

"You can still walk on water, right?"

Sighing resignation, he figured it was about the only chance for some food until he could do something about his situation. Like finding out where the hell he was!

"Come on, not again," grumbled an aged voice, "We've already paid you this month!"

Naruto, curious as to what was going on, turned the next corner and...well.

Three men were harassing an elder couple in front of a restaurant, each one in either red, blue or green clothing. The one in blue seemed to be the leader as he was strutting out in front, a cocky grin on his face, "Well, you see, the Triple Threats upped the rent as of this month, so you're a few thou short." He said, smirking as he held his hand out in a gimme-gimme gesture, "So we're gonna need you folks to fork it over."

The man he was talking to, just crossed his arms defiantly, "Well, you can forget it, ya bunch of rats, you've cleaned us out! We barely have enough to get by as it is!"

Naruto could feel a fight coming on when the three apparent gang members started cracking their knuckles. Kurama could see it as well, and he could see his former vessel starting to bristle. "Naruto, don't," the fox chided, "We may need food, but starting trouble just for a stranger - "

"I can't just sit back, Kurama," Naruto growled, and started forward. Kurama sighed, but followed after him. If a fight was about to break out, then he'd at least sink his teeth into some flesh.

"Hold it!" Naruto stopped. That was what he was going to say! He turned his attention to the speaker...and his jaw practically hit the ground. What the hell was she riding?!

"What in the name of the sage-?!" Kurama snapped as he took in the beast.

"No idea," Naruto said, watching the strange animal, and the girl. Now the girl was...well...she was a beauty.

She jumped down from her mount, which looked like a massive dog, and glared at the three. "I don't think you three should stick around here," she said with a smirk all her own, "You might get hurt."

The leader just smirked, "You obviously don't know who you're messin' with, girly!"

"Neither do you," the girl cracked her knuckles.

Naruto resigned himself to watch for a moment, then watched in surprise as the leader whipped out a blast of water.

"Was that a jutsu?" Naruto asked as he watched, "I didn't see any hand signs!"

"I couldn't sense any chakra!" Kurama growled as the girl twirled and sent the water right back at the man's face, turning it to ice, "What kind of place have we come to?!"

Naruto didn't answer as the man in red shot a bolt of flames at her.

"Okay, that's not so strange," Kurama said, "Even I can breathe fire."

"No chakra at all," Naruto noticed, "Not one flare!" While this was running through his head, the girl had blocked the flames and used her own against him, knocking him down, and then whipped him through a window.

_Damn, she's good,_ the blond thought as he watched her. She was a martial artist for sure, as well as a...nature manipulator?

Then Naruto saw the last one running in, no apparent attack coming, but...

Naruto was moving like a bolt of lightning before he knew what was happening. In a moment he was right in front of the attack, a spiraling mass of chakra formed in his hand.

"Wh-what the - " the green clad attacker yelped.

"Attacking a lady from behind is considered rude," Naruto smirked before driving the weak Rasengan home in the man's stomach, and blasting him twenty feet away, the scoring marks evident on him. "Bull's eye." Naruto dusted his hands off.

"That was over kill," Kurama said, though he was smiling, "Nice work, brat."

"I'll say," the girl shouted, "What kind of bending was that?!" She was practically drooling. Naruto was a little weirded out by the sudden interest.

"Uh...it's not bending...whatever that is...that was a ninjutsu called Rasengan." Naruto explained, trying to stave off the girl. Though he didn't have to do so. As it happened, her mount/pet caught sight of Kurama, and took a great interest in the fox.

Kurama, however, did not share that interest. The moment the giant dog-beast started sniffing at him. "Don't even think about it!" The fox growled, but, as the dog advanced and Kurama tried to breathe out a small stream of fire, but only sent out a plume of smoke. "Uh-oh..." Kurama started to sweat visibly from the dog's close proximity, "I don't suppose you're a vegetarian?"

GRRRR

"I didn't think so..._HELP_!" Kurama took off like a shurriken, and the dog was right on his tails.

"Nagga, no!"

"Kurama, get back here!"

"GET THIS OVERGROWN MUTT AWAY FROM ME!"

"HOOOOWWL!"

=x=

"I'm waiting to hear what happened," Lin Beifong said while tapping her foot, surveying the damage done to the street. Three Triple Threat triad men were in need of medical attention, one of them in serious condition thanks to internal bleeding from an odd wound on his midriff.

"Like I told your men," the old shop owner said, "A girl in a waterbending tribe outfit knocked the hell out of two of these guys that were harassing Qwan and Li, and a fellow with strange golden hair came out of nowhere and whammied the other one when he tried to take her from behind. He used some kind of bending I've never seen before. It was like a ball of pure energy he got hit with. And the girl, she was fire, and waterbending! I've never heard of anyone doing that unless they were the Avatar!"

Lin just groaned, "Just what I need. First the Equalists, now I have the Avatar, and an apparent _energybender_...someone get Tenzen from Air Temple Island!"

"Right away, Chief," her officer said.

"Did anyone see where these two went?" Lin asked the shopkeeper.

"They headed toward the center of town after that girl's polar bear-dog chased off that boy's...coyote-fox, I think it was."

=x=

"Away I say!" Kurama roared shrilly, "Get away!"

"Nagga, stop it!" The beast's owner yelled, "I'm sure he's friendly!"

Naruto nearly laughed at that, because for the longest time, he knew that the fox was the most unfriendly animal on the planet...his planet, anyway. "Kurama, stop running so we can catch up!"

"Not a chance!" Kurama yelled, "It's gonna eat me!"

"She just wants a cuddle!" Nagga's owner shouted, "Wait, I'm _talking_ to a coyote-fox!"

"I'm not one of your damned hybrids!" Kurama yelled in indignation, "I am a pure-blooded nine-tailed fox!"

"He is," Naruto chuckled, "Name's Naruto Uzumaki, by the way."

The girl smiled at him as they rounded a corner and tried to catch up, "Korra. No other names."

"HELLO!" Kurama roared, "INNOCENT FOX ABOUT TO BE DOG CHOW UP HERE!"

"She won't eat you!" Korra called to the fox, "She's just playing!"

Kurama just roared in frustration and lept up off the ground and into an ally, bounding off the top of a trash can then up to a fire escape, finally out of the polar bear-dog's reach. Nagga crashed into the ally, baying at the fox like a treed raccoon. "Nya-nya, can't get me now, ya overgrown poodle!" Kurama taunted, waving his tails at the dog. "You're mother was a chihuahua!"

Nagga, seeming not to take the insults all that well, jumped up and slammed into the iron bars of the rails, knocking poor Kurama skyward. Naruto ran in and up the wall to catch the careening fox in his arms.

Korra only just managed to grab hold of Nagga's reins before the dog could go after the fox again. "Down, girl! Bad polar bear-dog!"

"Thank the saints," Kurama sighed from the safety of Naruto's arms, "I thought I was gonna be dinner!"

Naruto chuckled, "You'd probably just give her indigestion."

Korra grinned and looked up at...up...at..."N-Naruto...w-w-why are you _standing on the wall_?"

Naruto kept the grin on his face, turning it on her, "Like I said. I'm a ninja!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Boy is Kurama in for a rough ride :p<strong>_

_**Constructive criticism welcome.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Not a bad turn out for reviews, honestly, I was expecting less than what I got. Now, as to why Kurama can't use any of his powers, that will be explained soon, but until then, he's still the...I believe Faraway-R called it reluctant comedy relief. Seeing as we're just beginning Book One, the fact that Naruto may or may not be a bender is not up for debate because you'll all see why in the Book Two story line, which I hope I can make interesting with a little spark of insanity. ;)**_

_**2: Republic City; Korra and Naruto's Recipe for Disaster pt.2**_

* * *

><p>Naruto and Korra, after calming down their furry companions, circled back around to the park, where Korra displayed her abilities at what she called waterbending to provide a meal for them. Naruto was grateful, and so was Kurama, for sure. But the more he saw the powers she wielded, the more curious he got.<p>

"So Naruto," Korra smiled at him as she passed him a roasted fish, "What nation are you from? I've never seen anyone with hair like your's before...or whiskers." She giggled before poking him in the cheek. Naruto grinned at the lighthearted teasing and pushed her hand away.

"I don't know anything about nations," Naruto told her, Kurama watching him as he munched on his own meal, "But I come from a place called the Land of Fire."

"So you're from the Fire Nation?" Korra asked curiously, then shook her head, "I can't see it. Most people I know from the Fire Nation are way paler than you, and have dark hair, and no one has such...blue eyes!"

Naruto cast a look down at the fox in question, to which Kuram just lifted his shoulders in a shrug. Naruto took that as the go-ahead. "I really don't know how I got here, Korra," he said before taking a bite, "The last thing I remember was being in a big fight with...someone I used to know. But I sorta got swallowed up by this white light that sent me and Kurama here...and I mean right here. We came falling out of the sky and hit the lake!"

At this point, he was almost afraid to look at the girl beside him. He knew the story sounded fantastic, but he had told the truth. Whether or not she believed him was another story altogether.

Korra, her lighter blue eyes wide in wonder, looked at the blond with an almost childlike curiosity. "Do you mean that you came through the spirit world?"

Kurama, finally looking up from his meal, scoffed, "Don't be foolish. If we did, Naruto wouldn't have survived. He has never had a connection to spirits, nor will he ever in my opinion. If we were pulled through a spirit portal, then I would have noticed."

"So what happened to us, then?" Naruto asked the fox pointedly.

Kurama shrugged, "If I had to guess, and this is the only thing that makes sense to me, is that the old man sent us here before we had a chance to kill that bastard Uchiha. Why? I have no idea. Hagoromo always did have reasons for doing something, though, so if he wanted us to come here, then there has to be a pretty damned good reason."

Naruto nodded, accepting this, then turned back to the girl, "So, do you believe me?"

Korra smiled at him, "It's a wild story, that's for sure, but why would you make up something like that?" Naruto just grinned at her belief, "So, what was your world like? Was it nice?"

Naruto smiled at this himself, "I lived on a central part of a large continent called the Land of Fire. It was covered in forests for the most part, except for a few plains where villages were normally built. Only ninja like me actually lived in the harsher parts of the land. But my village was strong, one of the strongest villages in the lands!"

"And you don't use bending?" Korra asked excitedly.

"No, we used jutsu techniques preformed with chakra- "

"What's chakra?"

In answer, Naruto sat back and lifted up his hand, letting his chakra form around it with a blue glow. Then he willed it into the first stage of the Rasengan. Korra beamed at the sight of the whirling mass. "That's incredible!" She said, "Do you think you could teach me?"

"Maybe." Naruto grinned with a slight blush on his face at the thought of teaching someone to use chakra.

Kurama laughed, "I wouldn't trust him to teach a fish how to swim!"

"Hey, I could be a teacher if I wanted!" Naruto snapped.

"Of course you could," the fox smirked, "To a rock. It's the only thing that would listen!" Kurama was roaring at his own joke, even Nagga seemed to growl in amusement. Korra was giggling as well while Naruto looked hurt.

"Gee, thanks a lot...shrimp." Naruto gained a smirk of his own, and Kurama immediately stopped laughing, glaring at the blond.

"What did you call me you brat?!"

"A shrimp," Naruto smirked, "You know it's a little fishy that's about the size of - "

"That does it!" Kurama lunged at him and latching onto his face, "You're dead meat, you blond birdbrain!"

"Gerroff!" Said blond roared as the fox clawed at him, Korra was torn between watching the fight and laughing at the pair, or stopping it before it went too far.

"Did you use to be bigger than this, Kurama?" Korra asked, deciding to distract the fox from his target.

"I was enormous!" Kurama snapped, leaving off his treatment of Naruto. "You're looking at the most powerful Tail-beast spirit in existence! No one could stop me once I decided to strike!" He puffed his chest out proudly, "I could flatten mountains with a single strike of just one of my tails, and whip up a hurricane with another. I was a force of nature!"

"Then...how did you two meet?" Korra asked.

"Not by choice," both said at once, earning a glare from each other and a giggle from the girl.

"That's a long story though," Kurama said, "Short version is that I was sealed inside him when he was a child, and we met when he was at death's door so I could save him. And for better or worse, we've been working together ever since then."

"And it wasn't always for the best," Naruto said, jerking his thumb at his companion, "More times than I could count, he tried to force his way out of me and wreak havoc."

"I just wanted to be free again," Kurama huffed, crossing his arms, "You were only my third vessel, while my siblings had already been sealed away into their fifth or sixth body. I was left alone for more than a thousand years before that bastard Uchiha found me and used me to fight the First Hokage."

Korra sighed in thought, "The more you two talk about the place you come from and the abilities of your people, the stranger it sounds."

"Well, this place seems pretty strange to us," Naruto said, "I've never seen a city like this one. It's so...cut off from nature. It's almost suffocating. And the way you can...bend the elements is crazy. Usually it takes years to master something like that, but you don't seem that much older than me, and I haven't even mastered my wind element - "

"Did you say wind?" Korra perked up in interest, "Are you an airbender?!"

Naruto shrugged, "I don't know anything about that. I know that I can perform wind based attacks, and use my chakra to cut things like leaves, and I cut a waterfall in half once during training. But I can't use the elements like you can."

Korra just broke out in a beaming smile, "Well, if you say your primary element is wind, then you must be and airbender! Tenzen will be so happy to hear about...oh, that's right!" She yelped, "I need to get to Air Temple Island!"

"Is it far from here?" Naruto asked.

"No, it's just off the coast, and I'm sure that Tenzen will let you stay since you could be an airbender," she said, and reached out a hand to pull him to his feet. Naruto grinned and took the proffered hand and let himself be pulled up. At least he would have a place to stay.

=x=

"Have we found them yet?" Asked a tall, bald man with a blue arrow tattoo on hi head, "Have we found Korra?"

"Not yet," Lin snapped, "Just relax, we have everything under control, now got sit down and let me do my job!"

The airbending master just sighed, "Lin, you don't understand. Korra's never been inside a city like this. She's spent her entire life in secluded training so she could master the elements, all the while watched over by the White Lotus. Only a month ago she was begging to be brought here so I could teach her the necessary element of air!"

"Sounds like you should have done that while she was at home," she sneered, "Of course, I don't blame you for coming back here with the Equalists causing trouble for benders. But now I have a problem. I have the Avatar in the city, and she's been raised away from it's dangers, and not only that, I have what could only be described as an energybender on the loose, and he's been reported to have been seen with Korra!"

"Energy bending is only used by the Avatar," Tenzen argued, "Whatever this boy is, there's no possible way that he's - "

"It was impossible to metalbend until my mother invented it," Lin snapped back, "And have you forgotten about bloodbending?"

"No," Tenzen sighed, "I haven't forgotten. Mother was never fond of that particular part of waterbending. But an energybender?"

"We've seen strange things since Aang's passing," the police chief said, "Remember that lavabending's just surfaced."

Tenzen sighed, "I agree with that, but energybending is almost impossible unless you're the Avatar, or a giant Lion-turtle!"

Lin's patience with the man was wearing thin, "Then how do you explain the markings on the victim's abdomen? Those were no scorch marks. It's almost like he was plowed into with something spinning at high velocity. Whatever that golden-haired boy did, it very nearly killed the man he hit with it." She frowned in thought, "That's dangerous in itself. If he's strong enough to do something like that, it makes me wonder what he's really capable of?"

"We'll find out as soon as we find them," Tenzen said, and started pacing, "But if those two are together, maybe we should be worried? He might not be the friendly sort."

Lin just rolled her eyes, "If that were the case, then he wouldn't have jumped in and helped Korra when that Triad member tried to blind side her." She shrugged, "With this kid, I'm willing to bet he was just passing and decided to jump in. But that doesn't mean he won't pose a threat...He's not getting out of trouble if I can help it."

"But how are we going to find them?" Tenzen wondered aloud, "All we have to go on is the boy's odd hair coloration, and Korra's polar bear-dog."

"Tenzen be serious," Lin grumbled, palming herself in the face, "How many people have you ever seen with hair that color, and how many people do you know in Republic City that own a polar bear-dog?"

"Oh...right...sorry, Lin, I'm just worried about Korra, that's all," he said, still pacing, "It's as I said, she's never been to the mainlands before."

"Which just means that you should have offered to take her in and teach her like she wanted," she snapped, "Now look what she's gone and done. She's out and on the loose with someone dangerous! I - "

"Chief Beifong!" One of her officers came running in, giving a hasty salute, "An Equalist rally in the middle of the financial district turned into a riot! A fight broke out and someone set fire to the Dancing Dragon hotel!"

"What?!"

=x=

The Dancing Dragon hotel had, at one time, been the finest hotel in Republic City, catering to any and all that graced their doors. Kept clean, with good service, it was a favorite among all...that is until someone shot a fire ball through a window.

The once lavish hotel was now a burning inferno that lit up the city brighter than day. No one, bender or non-bender knew what to do. This was the scene a particular pair of teens rode up upon. The girl in front of the boy, riding atop a monstrous polar bear-dog, jumped off and knocked off the nearest fire hydrant, bending the water into the blaze. "I need any waterbender right now!" She roared, "Is anyone still inside?!"

"We don't know," a woman said as she took up position beside her and started to help, sending another stream into the fire, "I was on the ground floor when it happened. A firebender was chasing off some of those Equalists."

Korra just grunted as more waterbenders took up the cause, but the fire was just too strong for so few. Naruto was wondering what he could do, but he didn't know any water techniques. Then he heard something that turned his blood cold. A high, shrill scream of a child from above them.

"Kurama, did you - "

"I heard it," Kurama snapped, hopping down to the ground, "She's on the top floor, near the roof!"

"I'm going up!" Naruto told his friend, and shot forward, much to the surprise of the growing crowd, and Korra.

"Naruto, wait, you'll be killed!"

"Takes more than a little fire to do me in!" And with that, shocking everyone that could see him, he ascended the wall of the building, running straight up without a worry or care.

"Show off!" Kurama shouted at him from bellow, cursing his predicament since he couldn't seem to mold his chakra, or else he would have joined the blond.

Naruto meanwhile reached the top most windows of the burning hotel, pulsing his chakra our to find the little girl, and then dove through a window, ignoring the flames that licked at his body. He considered entering his sage form, but that would most likely scare the child, and he didn't need that right now. So he continued on, his clothes catching as the flames consumed the ceiling.

"Where are you?!" He yelled out, and got a cough in reply. Without thinking, he rammed through the wall, and found her there, laying on the floor, her face covered in ask, and badly burned in some places. He picked her up and made his way...to a blocked window. "Dammit!" Not having any other choice, he tucked the girl against his chest with one arm and raised his hand, his form glowing with a silvery chakra. This was what was left of the power awakened in him by the sage. He had thought it was gone at first when the appeared in this world, exhausted as he was. But it was still with him, thank the gods.

Whatever had happened to bring him here, he was running on a full tank, and that meant he didn't have to hold back!

"Wind Style: Rashenshurriken!" Above his head formed his greatest achievement, the completed work of his father, a spiraling mass of chakra in the form of a shurriken. But the moment it formed, something unexpected happened. Naruto watched in awe as the wind from the jutsu started drawing in the flames around him, turning the attack red, the center turning dark, until it was pitch black with heat.

"Che," he hurled the mass up, through the ceiling, watching as it ripped and burned its way up and out.

Outside, on the street below, the receding flames hadn't gone unnoticed. Korra was still directing the small band of waterbenders, and though that for a moment they were making progress, that is until she saw the roof explode out with a massive scream as a disk of burning energy tore its way free. The attack traveled far into the sky, further than Naruto thought if could go, and expanded in a fiery sphere, and dissipated.

Naruto was just crawling out of the building, back to normal again thanks to his technique, and grinned as he started down the wall, the girl still tucked under his arm. "Think I'll call that the Hell-fire Rasenshurriken...nah, maybe not...Fire Storm Rasenshurriken? Damn..."

Naruto lept down the last few feet of the way, touching down with a proud smile on his face. "Naruto!" Korra smiled at him.

"Mikasa!" A woman screeched, rushing to the blond, and taking the child from his arms, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Get her to a medic," Naruto instructed, "She's taken in too much smoke for a kid her size, and she's got some bad burns around her hands and face."

The mother did as she was instructed and hurried off just as Korra walked over to him and slugged him in the arm, "You damn show-boat, you stole my scene!"

Naruto feigned being hurt and clutched his arm, "Ah, go easy on my!"

Korra thought she'd actually hurt him and moved to check him out, but the only thing that was actually damaged with his clothes, which were now falling away in charred remains. Korra giggled and picked up a piece of the ruined jacket, "I think you need to worry more about your wardrobe than your health."

Kurama and Nagga came up then, the former keeping a safe distance from the larger beast, "He's got as much bad taste in clothing as he has no sense. He's screwed."

"What's wrong with how I dress?" Naruto pouted, picking at his ruined clothes that Jiraiya had given him.

Korra would have replied, but that was when four police officers literally landed on the scene, Chief Beifong among them. She took one look at the blond and brunette before she shouted, "ARREST THOSE TWO!"

Naruto twitched a little at that as he was surrounded by officers, his hands being restrained by steel cables, "What the hell?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>This is what we call the fit hitting the shan...scratch that, reverse it. Anyway, Naruto and Korra are in deep. Let's hope Kurama can keep his trap shut...or not :P<strong>_

_**Don't forget to review! And Happy Holidays!**_

_**Kurama: Okay, screw you, Ryoshi, it's Merry frickin' Christmas!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**3: Air Temple Island**_

* * *

><p>Naruto stared down at the steel cables wrapped around his wrists. "This is new." He said, trying to pry his hands apart, but the cable was strong. Korra tried to move to his defense, but a second cable wrapped itself around her ankles as well.<p>

"Lin!" Yelled a baldm man as he came running onto the scene, "I told you that Korra is innocent!"

The woman, Lin as he'd heard her called, turned on him, "She destroyed public property, Tenzen, I have no choice in that matter. The boy and his pet are bad enough, but the Avatar will have to be detained in a special cell so that she wont get out!"

"Pet?" Said animal spoke up, startling the two, "Did you just call me a _pet_?" Kurama growled at her. Lin, for her part...was internally freaking out. Had she really just heard a coyote-fox speak, or was she finally losing it?

"Did I...just hear that thing speak?" Tenzen asked in a worried tone, obviously questioning his own sanity.

"_Thing_?" Kurama growled, glaring at the man, "I am no mere thing, you pathetic meat sack, _I_ am a Nine-tailed Fox!" Without anymore warning, Kurama, losing his temper at long last, launched himself at the man, latched onto his face and started scratching for all he was worth. Tenzen yelped in pain as he fell back, and Kurama turned his attention to Lin. "Here I come, GRANNY! _BWAHAHAHAHAAA_!" Lin shielded her face, expecting the fox to do her like he did Tenzen, but instead, Kurama did something his previous vessel would remember well into his life and beyond...he dove right down the front of Lin's armor.

"Wha-WAH! GET OUTTA THERE YOU FLEA-BITTEN MONGREL!"

"Hoohoo!" Kurama howled from inside, "Somebody's past their prime! They're sagging!"

Meanwhile, Naruto had worked his hands free, or rather, broken the cable by forcing his chakra into his hands to enhance the strength, and snapped them. He did the same to Korra a moment later while Kurama was keeping their would be captor busy...er.

Lin was not the happiest person at the moment as she tried to swat, pound and/or stab the lump that was burrowing around in her clothes. All that fur was tickling the hell out of her, and she did not like the idea of those teeth getting put somewhere they shouldn't.

"Should we help him?" Korra asked as she watched the deranged fox work with a twitching lip, "She might hurt him."

"He's immortal, she can't hurt him," Naruto told the girl and helped her onto Nagga's back, "Come on, we need to get out of here before anymore soldiers show up."

"Police officers," Korra corrected, "Go, Nagga!" She flipped the reigns and the polar bear-dog was off like a shot.

"Kurama!" Naruto yelled over his shoulder.

"Comin'!" Kurama yelled and slid out the back of Lin's uniform before running after them, "Syonara, suckers!" The fox laughed out as he caught up and lept to the saddle, waving back merrily at the harrassed people.

"You're gonna get us in serious shit one of these days, you know that?" Naruto asked the fox with a grin, "But that was a good one."

Kurama puffed out his chest with a little pride, "Hey, I'm a fox, we invented pranks! And this could be a lot more fun than I thought if I can pester a old fanny like her more often!"

Korra was a little more worried than the pair behind her, "We're not out of the woods, yet, guys. Air Temple Island is neutral when it comes to police business unless Tenzen gives the word, but we've still got a good five miles to the coastline if we wanna get out of this mess."

Naruto scoffed, "What's the worst that could happen?" No sooner had he said that than a few more strange machines made their way toward them from behind. "Uh...what're those?"

Korra cast a glance over her shoulder toward the problem, "Oh darn, those are motorcycles! Nagga can't outrun those!"

Naruto grinned, "Leave them to me!" He swerved around, his hands flashing through different seals. "Wind Style: Great Break Through!" From his palms came a blast of wind so powerful that Nagga was propelled forward by the sheer force, causing Korra to hold on for dear life until the beast got herself back under control. Meanwhile, the cycles were in worse shape.

The strange technique had unsettled the riders, and thrown them off, both rolling and scraping the ground. The machines crashed into the buildings and walls, exploding into flames.

"Heh, still got it," Naruto smirked, and swerved back around.

"What the hell did you just do?!" Korra snapped, "You nearly knocked me off!"

Naruto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, "Sorry. That was a little more powerful than I wanted it to be." The goofy look on his face nearly made Korra forget her anger and laugh, but it wouldn't do to bite her tongue while riding.

"Hey, if you're gonna start shooting of jutsu, spare some chakra for a fox here!" Kurama said, "I wanna get some good shots in too!"

Naruto glared at that fox, "Not a chance! We don't know what that'll *crunch* GAH! I bit my tongue!"

"Ha! Serves you right, ya stingy little *crunch* ARROOOO!"

Korra had a hard time keeping her laughter in check after that. She sure picked some interesting people to team up with.

=x=

"When I get my hands on that little flea bitten beast, I'll turn it into a fur coat!" Lin roared as she and Tenzen sped along the streets in a patrol car, "I can't believe I was embarrassed so easily!"

Tenzen nodded, "That creature had to be some sort of spirit. There's no other explantion for its speech, or the fact that I've never seen that species before, not even coyote-foxes look like that thing."

"I don't care!" Lin snapped, "It's dead meat when I get a hold of it!" She picked up a radio reciever, "Do we know where they're heading?!"

"_They appear to be heading to Air Temple Island, Ma'am, but be advised, the boy took out two cycle units with what looked like Air bending. Two men are down and on their way to the hospital for sever road rash."_

Tenzen was looking at the little reciever as if it were on fire. "Did he say Air bending?"

"Tenzen, don't get your hopes up," Lin said, "But this gives us the advantage. We'll head to the island and head them off, then I can - "

"It stops here," Tenzen said, "Stop the car, Lin."

Lin looked at him angrily, "You can't be serious?!"

"If there's even a small chance that he's one of us, then I'm willing to take that risk." The man said, "Stop the car, please."

Lin growled and pulled over to teh curb, "What if he's hostile?"

Tenzen sighed, and hardened his resolve, "I'll take his breath away if I have to." This shocked the police cheif. Air benders were among the most peaceful of all people, even if you provocted them, and to hear Tenzen, an Air master, say that he would willingly take the life of another...

"All units," she spoke into the reciever again, "Stand down and return to HQ. Councilman Tenzen will handle the fugitives from here on out."

Tenzen gave her a grateful smile, "Thank you, Lin."

"That's Cheif Beifong to you, Councilman." Lin snapped, "Now get out of my squad car!"

=x=

A short time later found the strange quartet standing at the docks, looking out over the water at the island. "How do we get over there?" Naruto wondered aloud, looking at Korra, "Don't suppose you can walk on water?"

"No, but I can - Hey!" Korra shouted indignantly as Naruto sighed and picked her up in his arms, princess-style, and hopped down onto the water's surface. Fully expecting to get a dunking, Korra held onto him tightly, but soon she realized the cool waters of the harbor never reached them and she looked down to see him standing on the water! "How in the world - "

"Ninja secret," Naruto smirked at her, "If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

"Turkey-bull feathers," Korra pouted cutely, reminding Naruto painfully of someone he used to know.

"Look out below!" Kurama yelled, and not a moment later, the dunking that Korra had been expecting came as Nagga, with Kurama sitting on her back, plunged into the water after her master. Kurama shook his fur out as soon as they came up, "Onward mighty mutant!"

"Kurama, be nice to Nagga," Naruto sighed and began walking, thoroughly soaked as they were. "You know she could still use you as a chew toy, right? And I'd let her!"

Kurama grinned at him, "No you wouldn't. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even be half as strong as you are now."

"Don't start that again," Naruto sighed, "You always pull that card, and you know that half of my life I was either be..." he stopped himself, having forgotten that he was holding Korra for a short moment. "Never mind," he growled as Korra glanced at him in question, "let's just get to that damned island."

Before Korra could question him, he took off at a run that took her breath away.

"H-hey!" Kurama yelled from behind them, "Don't leave us behind, ya blond brat!"

Naruto smirked and stopped about half-way to the island in the middle of the bay to allow the two canines to catch up. Korra shivered, getting cold from the water she'd been splashed with, and unconsciously curled into his chest more for the warmth that seemed to radiate off of him like a bonfire. Her eyes grew heavy. So much had happened since she arrived that morning.

She'd gotten into a fight with a bunch of gang members. Then she'd been saved by a supposed ninja, that also had a talking fox with nine tails. She also had hope that he was indeed an Airbender like he said he was, sort of, or at least that his wind techniques could be taught to others. Oh and let's not forget that she had, for the first time in her life, been arrested by real police...and she had loved every minute of it.

Things were so much different than they were back home in the Southern Water Tribe. Not to mention more fun. With Naruto around, she was sure that she could enjoy whatever Tenzen put her through.

Naruto had been thinking along the same lines as Korra, but with a slightly different feel. He was worried. He had been pulled out of the middle of a feirce battle with his rival, and both had just about killed each other. Now, only moments before striking the final blow, he had been whisked off to Kami knows where.

Nagga and Kurama caught up to them, and Naruto continued at a walk so they could stay beside them as they swam.

Thinking back on it, he felt that he had left so much behind, yet...he wasn't sorry. Whatever happened to Sasuke, he hoped he would never have to see his face again. And that was the truth. In all honesty, he'd gotten fed up with the Uchiha's attitude the day he drove to Lighting Blades through his chest, nearly killing him. But he had made that promise to Sakura, someone he thought he had loved, and more times than he could count, that promise had led him astray.

The only thing he really regretted was Hinata. She'd helped him greatly before the Shinju had sealed her away, and he could only hope that she was doing well after Kaguya's defeat. If Sasuke was still around, he had only said he would kill the five Kage..._The hell am I thinking?_ Naruto scolded himself. If Sasuke was still there, he was sure he would know. The light that had brought him here, had also engulfed Sasuke..._Maybe he got sent to a world of those crazy Amazon women like I read from one of Pervy Sage's books._ The thought made him smile. Sasuke hated women...or so it seemed.

"Thinking about the past?" Kurama asked as Nagga paddled along side the blond.

Naruto looked down at Korra, seeing the young woman had dozed off. "Sorta...what do you think happened to Sasuke?"

"No idea," Kurama shrugged. "But whatever it was, good riddance to bad rubbish is my motto."

"Yeah, but the light touched him, too," Naruto reasoned, "So maybe he's here as well?"

Again the fox shrugged, "It's hard to say, brat, but for both our sakes, I hope he's long gone." He said, his ears flicking in annoyance, "Not once, but twice in one week I was sealed up by that blasted Rinnegan, and both times were by Uchiha!"

Naruto felt a bead of sweat run down his face his friend's justly earned anger, "Well, either way, I don't think we'll be going home any time soon, Kurama."

"Maybe, but look at it this way, kiddo," Kurama smirked, "At least here, you have a fresh start, no one fears or hates you for what you are, because they don't know...well, except that girl there," he point at Korra with one of his tails, "And before you ask, yes, you're still a Jinchuuriki. I can sense both mine, and the other's chakra within you. Not to mention the power of the sage."

Naruto chuckled humorlessly, "Am I even still human?"

"Of course you are!" Kurama snapped, "Father was human, and he housed all nine of us. You've also seen how he looked. And yet he was a true human being."

Naruto remained silent as they neared the shoreline, spotting the same bald man he'd seen before. "Uh oh, we may be in for it."

"I say we go down fighting," Kurama smirked.

But neither should have worried. As they approached, Tenzen opened his arms in a welcoming gesture. "Weclome, young Airbender." He said loudly so he could be heard, "Please forgive our earlier encounter, but we thought you posed a threat to the Avatar, and the city."

Naruto tilted his head to the side, "Avatar? I don't even know what that's supposed to mean, so how could I be a threat to whatever or whoever that is?" He asked in a growl, "And if you didn't notice, I did save a child from a burning building, and the first thing that happens afterward is my attempted arrest. You ask me, I'm the one that should feel threatened."

Tenzen nodded, "I fully understand. You must be very confused about all of this - "

"You can say that again," Kurama snapped, "Where the hell are we anyway?!"

The Airbending Master gave a short respectable bow to the fox, "You are in Republic City, noble spirit. And I will see to your's and your companion's safety. As an Airbender, he has every right to stay and train on this island with my family as the last remaining of our kind."

Naruto glanced down at the girl in his arms, "What about her?"

"She..." Tenzen began to sweat, "Well, she'll be sent back home, I suppose. It's dangerous here, and she's too valuable to be put in - "

"No deal," Naruto said clear, only inches away from land, "She's the only person that's treated me well since I got to this place, and I call her my friend. If she's not staying, then neither am I."

"But...now see here, young man, you don't understand the severity of - "

"Is she this Avatar you were speaking so much about?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, she is," Tenzen said, "If harm were to come to her now, the whole world would fall into chaos."

Naruto nodded, "Then I make this promise. As long as Korra trains with me to become an Airbender, whatever that is, then I vow to protect her with my life. No matter the cost."

"He means that, too," Kurama said, "I've never seen this kid break a promise before, and I've been with him since he was born."

Tenzen looked the boy over. His clothing was ripped and tattered as if he lived on the streets, yet he was strong and healthy from the look of him. Then there were his eyes. Eyes like his were not even seen in the Water Tribes. Nor such golden hair. The hands that held Korra so close were scarred and battered. This boy was a fighter, among other things.

Tenzen sighed, "We will talk about this more in the morning," he said, "I promise you that she will not leave until we've spoken...now, won't come ashore? You must be hungry."

Naruto nodded, and set foot on land. They'd reached their goal...for the moment.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sorry this took so long! But I hope you enjoy it!<strong>_


	4. Chapter 4

_**4: Air**_

* * *

><p>Naruto was led into the island's interior, following Tenzin closely with Korra still in his arms, and Kurama at his heels. It was all too quiet for the blond's taste. "Isn't there anyone else on the island?"<p>

Tenzin looked back over his shoulder, "Yes, my wife, Pemma, and our three children. Melo, Jinora and Ikki. There are also a few Air Accolites that work and maitain the temple gardens and the interior."

"Where are they?" Naruto asked, feeling uneasy.

"Bed, the children are young, and Pemma is pregnant with our fourth," he said, smiling in thought, "I can see that you are unwilling to put your trust in me as of yet, but I assure you, no harm will come to you."

Kurama looked up at him, "He's telling the truth, Naruto, lying produces negative emotions, and I can't sense any coming from this guy."

Naruto nodded to the fox. He could sense the same thing most of the time, and he couldn't sense that from Tenzin at all. If anything, he felt calm, yet worried. Probably for Korra's sake, or his family's.

Tenzin nodded to the fox, "We Air Nomads are a peaceful people. Violence is not in our nature, nor are lies." He said as he led them through another hall, "It is, most likely, one of the factors that led to our down fall more than a hundred and sixty years ago."

"That sounds familiar," Naruto sighed, remembering the massacre of the Uchiha clan back in his home. "What happened?"

"The hundred year war," the man said, "My father, the previous Avatar, was the last Airbender in the world until he married. But before that, the Fire Nation attacked our people in an attempt to kill him. They left none alive. But by the time they came, Aang had already fled. Somehow he was sealed away in a block of ice, and woken more than a hundred years later after the Fire Nation destroyed the Nomads."

Kurama hummed, "That does sound familiar," he said, "Where we came from, war was rampant for a time. In my life time, I saw four wars withing five hundred years, and none of them were fought for just cause. It was all for power."

Tenzin stopped and turned to the fox, "You must have seen a great deal that time...I wonder if you would tell me of it?"

Kurama laughed, "I'm well over a thousand years old, human. I could fill libraries with what I know." He gave the man a grin that normally would have sent a human running, "_Nothing_ I could tell you would give you good dreams."

"I see," Tenzin sighed, "Then you have my sympathy. I can only hope that your stay here will be pleasant." He turned a corner and opened a door, "you can set Korra in here."

Naruto walked into a small room that was a little bit bigger than his old home was, not including the bathroom. It was nice, he supposed, well nicer than what he was used to. He moved forward and gently laid the girl on top of the bed, not bothering to pulled the covers back as it was a warm night. "I'd like a room close to this one if you don't mind. It'll make it easier too keep my promise."

Tenzin nodded, "You can have the one right next to this one. And I'll have some new robes brought in for you in the morning." He smiled, "Those can't be very comfortable anymore." Naruto looked down at himself, seeing that his jumpsuit was indeed almost unfit to wear save for a few bindings holding it together. It was completely destroyed as a wearable peice of clothing.

"That'd be great, thanks," Naruto said and sat on the edge of the bed, "What am supposed to do while I'm here, anyway? I mean, I'm not sure what you think I am, but I'd rather not disappoint you by not being this...Airbender person you're expecting."

Tenzin smiled at the boy kindly, "In all honesty, my boy, I'm not sure what to expect, but I'm praying to the spirits that you are." He said, "My family is the last of a once great nation, and now there are only four of us left...five if my hopes hold true about you. But to answer your question, the Air Nomads are a ver spiritual people, who delved deep into meditation, and ways of peace."

Naruto nodded, "Sounds like a good life...I could use a little peace right about now."

Again, the man smiled and left the boy to sleep. As the door closed, Naruto flopped back on the bed, "Damn...I don't remember being this tired...and I didn't even do that much today!"

Kurama bounded up onto the bed, "That's just everything setting in. You've just come out of a war, and now you're dealing with a new world that doesn't seem to work like ours did."

"You can say that again," Naruto sighed, closing his eyes, "And I went and made a dumb promise in the heat of a moment again...this is gonna come back and bite me, I just know it.

Kurama chuckled as he curled up at the foot of the bed, "That's just how you are, kid, you know it. Besides, me thinks that girl might have a little thing going for you."

Naruto kicked off his sandles, "Don't start that. I don't want, or need a girl in my life until I figure this life out. I mean, why would Geezer Sage send us here in the first place? Nothing's making sense right now. Are we supposed to do something?"

"Don't know," the fox yawned, "Don't really give a damn. All I know is this. We've got a home here for now. As long as we're careful, we may have a home for good. I know I don't fancy wnadering around without my powers. And you're a walking powerhouse right now as it is. You'd draw more attention than if the Jyuubi itself came slithering through the city."

"Guess you're right," Naruto said as he laid his head against the pillow, "So, this Airbending thing...?"

Kurama nodded, "I got a good look at that old man's chakra network as we were walking...he doesn't have a functioning one."

"No?" Naruto looked up in surprise, "I thought people couldn't survive without one?"

"They can't," the fox said, looking annoyed, "He has one, it's just not working right now. From what I saw, he uses what we call yin chakra, or spiritual energy to perform this Airbending of his."

Naruto nodded, following him so far. "I guess that makes sense. Using Yin release takes a lot of spiritual awareness as far as I know, so its really difficult for most people since ninja rely on our chakra."

Kurama smirked, "Well, well, he can be taught." He snickered as Naruto growled at him, "But you're right, as far as chakra goes, what comes from within, it is the life energy of the body, the more you work your body, the stronger it becomes. If you run out, your dead. Yin chakra works the same, but it relies on the bodies awakened spiritual energies. You have both, and they're strong thanks to Father. So, technically, you could and can Bend like they can."

"And I guess I'm an Airbender since my old element is wind." Naruto reasoned, then grumbled, "This is gonna be a headache and a half."

"Quit complaining," Kurama sighed, "Aren't you the one that never gives up?"

Naruto smirked at that, "Yeah, I guess I am. Besides, I gotta promise to keep."

Kurama rolled his eyes and closed them, drifting off to sleep with a soft pur. Naruto was soon to follow him as the exhaustion of everything that had happened caught up with him. The war. Coming to a new land. Being able to relax for once...Naruto drifted into a dreamless sleep for once, and slept through the night.

=x=

The next morning found Naruto sprawled out on his bed, half his body hanging over the edge, while Kurama was flat on his back, his legs in twitchin in the air as if he were chasing something.

It was this that a pair of accolytes came to see that morning as the brought the young man a change of clothes, and a jug of water to wash up with. One of them, a woman, thought the sight funny, almost childlike. She had half a mind to tuck him back into bed and let him sleep, but that would mean he would miss breakfast. So she prodded him gently in the shoulder. "Sir, please, it's time to get up. Breakfast is ready, and the day's chores need to be done."

Naruto stirred for just a moment, his eyes comin open to see the woman's blurred image. His sleep fogged mind took a moment to process the stranger smiling down at him...then his nerves kicked in. A startled yelp came from his throat as he lept from the bed...and clung to the ceiling. Both hands and feet, by the tips of his toes and fingers, were on the wall, much to the sheer shock of the two accolytes.

In a moment, Naruto got his bearings again, remembering where he was. He dropped back to the floor, and gave the two a bow, "Sorry, I wasn't expecting...you just startled me." He scratched his head in embarrassment.

Recovering from her shock the woman gave him a warm smile, "Master Tenzin did warn us that you had...odd abilities. I feel it is we that should apologize." She gave a curt bow, "We have brought you a change of clothes, and have been asked to bring you to the dinning room. We will step out while you clean up and wake up Korra."

The pair stepped out, leaving Naruto to clean up. The blond noticed a pile of folded clothes on his dresser, and picked them up..."Well, at least their orange..."

He took the jug of water and discard his old clothing, beginning to wash away days of grime. He hadn't realized just how dirty he was as the water was soon turned grey. It felt good to be clean again. As he began to dress, he regarded the old Leaf village head band. It would definitely look out of place in his new attire...but he wouldn't give up the one last thing that tied him to his home. So he took it and attached the metal piece to his sash as a sort of buckle.

Kurama was watching from the comfort of the bed, "Well, I gotta say it's an improvement over that stupid jump suit of yours."

"Jiraiya bought that suit for me," he reminded the fox, "I'm not really happy about losing it." He picked up the suit, and, out of one of the many pockets, fell a scroll with his name on it. "What the?"

Kurama looked it with interest, "I know that hand writting! It's Hagoromo's!"

"The Sage's?" Naruto picked up the scroll, and unrolled it, "this might be what we're...looking...for..." Kurama looked at his friend, seeing defeat cross his features.

"Naruto?" He crawled off the bed and pushed at his leg, "What's wrong, what's it say?" Wordlessly, the blond held the scroll out for him, and Kurama began reading.

_Naruto,_

_I suppose this is strange, to find yourself in a new world._

_But I can assure you that there is a reason for this. _

_Inside this scroll are all your belongings from The Land of Fire, _

_as well as a copy of every jutsu scroll from all the villages. _

_It is my hope that you will put them to good use, and _

_teach this new world the path of Ninshou._

_If you are able, come to the spirit world to meet with me,_

_there I will explain all. _

Kurama read and re-read the scroll over and over again, not believing what he was seeing. "He did this to we could bring Ninjutsu to this place?" Kurama breathed out. "And he wants you to come to the spirit world?!" Kurama roared and threw the scroll to the floor, "Of all the slack-jawed, moronic, idiotic sons of bitches I've ever met -!"

"Kurama," Naruto said, calming him, "It's...it's okay. I think I can live with this."

"Not!" Kurama shouted loudly, "That old goat's basically asking you to become this world's SAGE OF SIX PATHS! And you're okay with that?!"

Naruto smiled at the fox's fury, "Look, Kurama, I may not be a good teacher, but if this is what we're supposed to do - "

"You're supposed to have gotten through that damned war," Kurama ranted, "Then you were gonna kill that scrawny Uchiha that wanted to kill your friends at long last, and then you were supposed to grow old, get married, have a few kits, and die like a normal man! Not become the second sage!" By now the fos was pacing back and forth along the floor with his arms crossed, "If we make to the spirit wold like he asks, then the first thing I'm doing is biting his face off! He's never done anything remotely this crazy!"

Naruto was about to respond when a knock was heard at his door, and Korra poked her head in. "Naruto? You okay? I heard shouting."

Naruto smiled upon seeing her, "It's fine, Korra, Kurama was just telling me something. That's all."

Korra was skeptical about that. Naruto was obviously lying. And Kurama, from the frazzled look of his fur, was extremely agitated. "You sure about that? You guys look a little...rough."

Kurama looked at the girl and sighed, "It's nothing, little one, merely a discussion about what to do while we're here. Naruto has his doubts about being an Airbender."

It was the truth in some ways. Naruto did have his doubts. Korra seemed to accept this, but she was still worried for the blond. "Okay, you two should hurry up and come eat. Melo normally out eats even Nagga."

=x=

Breakfast was an oddity. Naruto had heard Tenzin metion his children, but he hadn't expected them to be...well.

"Are you Korra's boyfriend? You look like you could be Korra's boyfriend. Have you kissed her yet? Have you gone a date? Are you getting married?" Aske a motor-mouthed girl that had her hair done up in buns much like his old friend, Tenten. Of course, Tenten never asked about his love life. Naruto took it all in stride, keeping his own motor-mouth down, and indulged the girl.

Korra, however was blushing candy-apple-red.

"Ikki! There's no way I'd date someone after just meeting him!" Korra shouted.

"But Dad said he was carrying you like a princess when you got here!" Ikki giggled, much to both teens embarrassment.

Naruto chuckled, "No, Ikki, I'm not her boyfriend, but I'd be lcuky if I was. She's a great friend as far as I've seen." Korra blushed at his, but more so with his next statement, "And she's very pretty."

Ikki and her sister, Jinora giggled. Korra was glaring daggers at Tenzin, who busied himself with his meal. Naruto noticed that is mostly vegetables and some fish, but nothing meaty. _I guess Airbenders don't eat meat._

"So," Jinora asked shyly, "Is it true you might be an Airbender like us?"

Melo, the youngest just glared at him, "He's my junior officer! That means I teach him!"

"Not happening," Kurama grunted angrily, having been treated to the children's fondness for fluffy animals...whilst Melo had tried to bite off one of his tails. Tenzin had to stop the fox from biting back. "I teach this blond rat, and he inturn, teachs you. If he deems you worthy."

"Kurama, knock it off," Naruto sighed, "Look we don't know if I'm an Airbender yet, so jus...jus...*sniff*...I...ah...ahh..AAHHCHOOO!" Naruto sneezed hugely. Not an abnormal thing for the blond, but what happened was. He'd neglected to turn his head, and the resulting gust of wind that rushed forth ended up covering him, and Korra with his breakfast. "Oops," he sniffled as a bowl came back down on his head, "Sorry."

Tenzin, Jinora, Ikki, and Melo were all looking at the boy like he'd just grown another head.

"What?"

Tenzin smiled thinly, "It's fine, Naruto, but I think you just proved that you are an Airbender. I've never seen anyone but Melo sneeze like that before."

Kurama, however, was laughing his tails off, "Good gods, brat, you look so stupid!" He howled, "Nice hat! Does it come with soy sauce?!"

Naruto growled and grabbed the fox's bowl and upended over Kurama's head, showering him in rice. "It does now."

Kurama growled at him, shaking rice off his head, "I'll get you for that, ya little runt!"

"Look who's talking, Shrimp!" Naruto snapped back.

Kurama's tails bushed out, "Oh you did not just say what I think you did!" Soon enough, both launched themselves at each other, resulting in yet another brawl.

Korra chose to ignore it, looking directly at Tenzin, "So...about _my_ Airbending training?"

Tenzin snapped out of the daze he was in over the two brawlers, "Oh, um, right, about that...well, I was going to try to reason with you about going back home."

The brawl stopped right there as Kurama and Naruto watched him. Tenzin looked at the pair, knowing full-well that Naruto would most likely leave if he sent Korra away, and that meant losing a confirmed Airbender.

"But?" Korra urged.

Tenzin sighed in defeat as Naruto and Kurama returned to the table. "But, after a vow from your friend there, I've decided, since he is an Airbender as well, to train you both - "

"YES!" Korra crowed, slugging a grinning Naruto in the shoulder, "Hear that, Naruto?! He's gonna train us!"

"But!" Tenzin said loudly, "I have to stress that things in Republic city are not as they should be." This caught their attention. Tenzin cleared his throat, "I hate to say this, but the way things are right now, Benders, and Non-benders could easily got into a civil war if things don't calm down."

"War," Naruto said, sinking back to his seat, "Not again." Kurama sat beside him, offering a small amount of comfort.

The fox looked at Tenzin, "You asked me last night if I would tell you of the things that I have seen." He looked first to Naruto, then to Korra, and all around the table until his eyes fell back on Tenzin. "I shall tell you all a story."

"A story?" Pemma asked worriedly rubbing her stomach.

Kurama nodded, "Of where Naruto and I come from. Of the Fourth Ninja War."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Sage of Six Paths has given Naruto his answers, but they are not the answers he wanted. Naruto discovers an ability to Airbend, and Kurama reveals all. <strong>_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Such lovely reviews! I never do expect to get so many for each chapter, but you guys are so awesome! So here's chapter five!**_

_**5: Meeting**_

* * *

><p>Naruto sighed, "I'm gonna go find a spot to meditate," he rose from his seat, "Thanks for the meal." Korra looked after him as he turned to leave.<p>

"Aren't you going to stay for - ?" She started, but a chilling look from the usually smiling blond stopped her.

"Why hear a story that I lived through?" He asked not unkindly, but there was pain laced in his voice. A pain she couldn't begin to understand. Tenzin nodded his understanding.

"There is a small area near the front of the temple. You'll find a gazibo there where I normally train in meditation." He told the boy, who nodded his thanks, slowly leaving the room.

All eyes then returned to Kurama, who sighed, "You'll have to forgive him. The war took it's toll on him more than he wants to let on." The fox tapped his muzzle in thought, "Now...I suppose I'd best start at the beginning.

"In the beginning, in our world, the was the age of endless war. Mankind had just emerged from the darkness of time, resulting in endless bloodshed. Through countless millenia, the blood of the fallen gave rise to a massive tree. This tree promised great power once every thousand years as it bore a single chakra fruit. Anyone that ate this fruit would gain near god-like powers. But the people, of all races, were warned against tasting the fruit. For what good could come from a fruit nutured by darkness, and fed by blood?

"But this fruit attracted the attention of yet another race of people. A race that lived on the moon. Attracted by the bloodshed, and the tree, a being called Kaguya Otsutsuki descended upon the earth. Feeling that power was needed to end the wars, Kaguya did the unthinkable, and ate the fruit. The deed done, aguya gained powers like no other, able to call up storms, and use her very bones as weapons. She also gained a third eye, called the Rinne Sharingan, that allowed her to instantly transport herself to another dimension. Anything she touched with her bone weapons turned instantly to ashes.

"But she was a kind being, and for that kindness the humans worshiped her as a goddes. But that kindess was not to last. See, by eating the fruit of the Shinju, Kaguya grew power hungry and paranoid, fearing someone would try to steal the next fruit, or her own power. Her rule turned cruel, forcing the humans to her will, or feeding them to the Shinju producing mindless soldiers that were later known as Zetsu. Later, her fears were slightly realized, as she birthed twin sons that inherited her chakra abilities. Torn with the love for her children, and the fear that they would turn against her, she let them grow into men.

"But soon those fears came to the forefront of her mind again as both children displayed more of her gifts. Hagoromo, my father, possessed the Rinnegan, an eye that could absorb chakra, while his brother, Hamura, possessed the Byakugan, or All-Seeing White Eye, that let him see chakra inside a body, and gave him nearly three hundred sixt degrees of sight, save of a small blind spot behind his heart.

"Again, Kaguya was torn. She loved, hated and feared her sons for their powers, yet she could not bring herself to harm them. Hagoromo, through sharing his chakra with others, hoped to bring further peace to the land by helping humans see themselves, and others better. This, he had hoped would lead to a better understanding between them. And it worked, his teachings of Ninshu rose in ranks as the humans became able to see each other, and know each others pain, communicating without the need to speak.

"But Hagoromo reckoned without Kaguya. Feeling that she had been betrayed by her son, she incarnated herself with the Shinju tree, and became one with it, creating a Biju later known as the Ten-tails. Using this creature, she sought to retrieve every once of chakra given by her sons, even that of her sons themselves. Hagoromo and Hamura saw that the loving mother that they once knew had fallen into maddness, and sought to seal her way. With Hamura's help, Hagoromo seperated the Ten-tails' chakra from it's body, and sealed it inside himself, making into something called a Jinchuuriki, or a human sacrifice. The body of the beast was sealed away inside the moon along with Kaguya.

"For a time, peace reigned, and Hagoromo's teachings led the world into a time of prosperity as the people of the worl began to come together in harmony. When the time was right, Hagoromo took a human wife who bore him two sons, Indra, who inherited a mutated version of Kaguya's third eye called the Sharingan, and Asura, who inherited the earth-bound Otsutsuki clan's incredible chakra. He was able to create a battle avatar almost equal in strength to that of Kaguya herself. Indra was a born leader of armies, and ruled his people with strength and force, leading his people to conqure. Asura was a kind, friendly boy that valued friendship above all. When if came time, Hagoromo chose to make Asura, the younger son, his successor.

"Angered by this, Indra challenged his brother to a battle, resulting in both their deaths in constant fighting between their two clans. This is how the curse of hatred began once more. And upon his deathbed, Hagoromo used the last remaining chakra in his body to split the chakra of the Ten-tails into nine tailed beasts. I was the first, marked by my nine-tails as the strongest out of my siblings.

"This led to something not even our father expected. For once we were set free, we sought solitude, but the humans found us, sealing us into human vessels, creating living weapons to use at their disposal. I was to the last to be seal, and to my misfortune, I met face to face with Asura and Indra's reincarnations. Indra, or Madara as he'd been renamed, sought my power to help him fight against his rival and reincarnated brother, Hashirama Senju. Both of these men were not only their incarnations, but their direct descents. And Madara had done something horrible. You see, the Sharingan has three stages. The first is a normal red eye with three tomoe around the iris, and the next...is achieved by murdering the person closest to you...Madara and his brother achieved the second stage, the Mangekyou Sharingan."

Korra and Tenzin shivered, "Why would someone go that far to - "

"Power," Kurama said to the girl. "Nothing more, nothing less. But the Mangekyou comes with a price. Too much use of the abilities, and the wielder will go blind. Madara was blinded within a year, while his brother still retained his sight...so when Izuna Uchiha was close to death, he gave Madara his eyes, allowing him to achieving something that even he did not know existed until that moment. The Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. His eyes would endure for as long as he lived. That was when he came for me. We fought, leveling mountains, and crushing forests. But I was out classed by those repugnant eyes of his. They forced me to do his bidding like a puppet, and I was made to attack Hashirama Senju."

Pemma clutched at her swollen belly, "Kurama, forgive me, but your world, wherever that is, sounds like hell." Tenzin, shocked by his wife's words, could only nod in agreement. It did sound like hell, when a man would murder his own brother for power.

"So," Korra asked, "what does this have to do with this fourth war that you told us about? And why does this concern Naruto?"

Kurama gave the girl a look that made her sit back, "Because, girl, he, and eight others, were the object of that war."

=x=

Naruto found the spot Tenzin had told him about easy enough. He knew that he shouldn't have walked out like that, but hearing about the past again would only depress him since it looked like he would be hear for a long time coming. He sighed to himself, and sat in the lotus position, bringing his hands together as he'd been taught, and began to meditate.

He could the natural chakras all around him, just like his training to become a sage. It was a welcome comfort to know he could still do it here. But there was something strange. A soft tugging at the back of his mind, as if someone or something was trying to get his attention. Curious as to what it was, he let the feeling guide him.

Naruto felt himself drawn away from his body as he fell through something akin to the white warmth of the light that had brought to Republic cifty, but it was far less powerful. He fell until he felt himself lying on his back against soft grass. Opening his eyes, he found himself in a meadow that wasn't there before. "Where the hell am I now?" He asked almost in exasperation.

A voice behind him giggled, "Well, since I get to see you again so soon, I think you're right where you need to be." Naruto froze. That voice was so familiar that it nearly broke his heart. "My dear, it's so good to see you again." Naruto turned, seeing a familiar round face, framed by blood-red hair.

"M-Mom?"

=x=

"So you're saying that Naruto was a Jinchuuriki at one time?" Tenzin asked, his arms crossed in thought, "But he seems quite normal to me."

Kurama nodded his head, "Jinchuuriki are no different than any other human, except for the fact that they have nearly unlimited chakra, and take on properties of their biju. Naruto was, and still is, my host, and now he holds the rest of us as well, thanks to that damned war."

Ikki was looking at the fox in wonder, "Then how are you outside when you said you're inside him? Are there two of you, or are some kinda copy?"

"I haven't got a clue," Kurama said truthfully, "I already explained what happens when a Tailed-beast is extracted from a host. Naruto got lucky when my siblings gave him a small portion of their chakra, added to the residual chakra left by myself, and we were able to manifest a weaker form inside him, calling forth our father, and saving Naruto."

Pemma sighed, smiling, "What I can't understand is why Naruto was treated so badly for what he held. I mean, wouldn't he be hailed as a hero after you were sealed inside him?"

Kurama gave the woman a smile, "No, even though some Jinchuuriki were well respected, they were always feared, and Naruto was no different. What people saw when they looked at him was a painful reminder of what happened the day he was born. All their friends and family lost because I was ripped from his mother. They saw him as myself incarnated into a human that could be hurt, even killed, but the man that watched over him never let that happen."

Jinora was the next to speak, thoroughly shaken, "I guess Mister Uzumaki's still not over the war, huh? Is that why he left?"

Kurama nodded to teh child in turn, "It is. he Lost a lot of friends in that last battle against the Ten-tails, and one of them died right there in his arms. Not to mention the betrayal of his former friend." Kurama dipped his head, "He was fully prepared to kill him just before we were swallowed up by that light."

Korra had been quiet up until that moment, but the young woman rose from her seat, "I'm going out to train."

"Korra," Tenzin said in worry.

"I'm fine," she said over her shoulder, "I just need to clear my head."

"Let her go," Kurama said as the girl left, "She'll be alright."

Tenzin sighed, "I fear you were right when you told me that nothing you could tell me of your life would give me a good night's sleep." He said, giving the fox a grateful smile, "But I thank you for telling me. I think it's given me a little insight on what to do about this problem we're having right now."

"Glad I could be of assistance," Kurama said, "Now, what would you say to us teaching Ninjutsu to a select few?"

Melo perked up at this, "Me! Me! I wanna learn!"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Tenzin, Pemma, and Kurama yelled at once.

"Stingey," Melo pouted.

=x=

Korra wandered out into the sparing area of the temple, thinking about what Kurama had told her of Naruto's life. Nothing could have been taht horrile, could it? Such harsh treatment of a child, all because he carried a burden no one else could? "It's not right." She muttered, and threw a punch that erupted into flames, "It's just not right!" She stomped the ground, spliting it open.

"He cared for them all his life, and they shunned him!" She roared. Water erupted from the crack in the ground she had made, spraying her down completely, but she didn't care. She was too pissed off.

She jumped, spinning around in mid-air as flames flew from her feet and hands in a whirlwind. "He had everything taken from him, and they only made it worse!" She landed, creating a gigantic crater in her wake. Falling to her knees, her chest heaved as she choke back a sob.

=x=

Naruto looked at his mother in shock. She was just as he remembered her. Young and beautiful. "Mom, why are you here? I thought - "

"That I went to the afterlife after we met?" She asked, smiling at him, "Well, I did, Naruto. This is the spirit world."

"I...wha...how did I get here?!" Naruto asked as he looked around in confusion, "i was meditating, and wanted to clea my head, but I don't - "

Kushina pressed a finger to his lips, "Hush, Dear, I know this is all confusing. And I'm sure you've got questions, but those will have to wait a little bit." She moved away and gestured for him to follow her, "Come on, or we're gonna be late, ya know."

Naruto smirked, "You said_ ya know_ again!" Kushina giggled.

"Come on, your father's waiting for us as well."

"Dad's here, too?" Naruto smiled as he followed, "Wait...if this is the spirit world, then that means I'm dead, right?"

"No," Kushina smirked, "That's only if you go to the afterlife. The spirit world is something in between the two. I chose to stay here and wait for your father, and when he joined me, we decided to stay here. And ya know what? I'm glad we did. We've met so many incedible people and spirits here while here! And we get to see you again!"

Naruto trailed after her with a little hesitation, "Geezer Sage said I needed to come here and meet with him if I wanted an explantion about why I got thrown here."

"Oh, you mean Hagoromo?" She asked, and snickered, "Geezer Sage, I'll have to use that. But yeah, he's here, too, matter of fact, that's where we're going. A friend of his is having a tea party."

"Tea party?" Naruto raised his brow. Kushina merely smiled at him, and tugged him over a small hill. Immediately, he heard laughter, shouting, and the clatter of dishes. One laugh was so familiar that he could almost see the perverted grin on the man's face.

A smile reached Naruto's face as he came up over the hill, and heard the man's voice. "And she said kiss this -"

"Jiraiya, enough with the perverted jokes," Minato groaned, "It's bad enough I have to listen to Shukaku whining about Gyuki stealing his cake!"

"Hey, Gyuki did steal my cakes!"

"I did not! You ate them yourself!"

"Will you two knock if off! Dad's gonna get mad at us again!"

The smile on the blond's face grew into a full-blown grin as he took in the sight of a large, long table. Seated at that table were his father, and the other eight tailed-beasts that were now no bigger than Kurama was, and none other than the white-haired man that had trained him. Jiraiya caught sight of him as soon as he stepped into sight and broke into a grin of his own.

"Hey there brat!" He yelled loudly, causing the rest of the company to turn his way. Though, no sooner had he yelled that out, than the boy turned into a blond blur, tackling the old man backward. Jiraiya laughed loudly as Naruto punched him halfheartedly.

"You jackass! Perverted old goat!" Naruto yelled, tears springing to his eyes, "What the hell were you thinking going after Pein like that?! You went ang got yourself killed, and I had to clean up your mess! You have any idea how that made me feel?!"

"Ow, okay, okay!" Jiraiya yelped, "I'm sorry, okay? It really wasn't my intention to die!"

"But you did!" Naruto snapped, rubbing his tears away, "You don't know how how much things went wrong after that!"

Jiraiya sat up and moved the blond off of him, "I...well, I sorta do. You see, I was kinda keeping an eye on you from up here." He said guiltily, "Look, kid, I know things got rough there for a while, but you really did a great job! I'm proud of you!"

"So am I!" Kushina gushed happily, "It such a shame that things went bad there at the end with Sasuke, though."

Naruto groaned, "Don't get me started on that power hungry moron," he snapped, "I've had up to here with him and his woe-is-me routine! If I never see his face again, it'll be way too soon!"

"Hahaha! You tell'em, Cub!" Shukaku cackled shrilly.

"Don't start squawking again," Matatabi sighed, "Chomei, make him behave!"

"Don't drag me into this again, I still don't see whay you don't just muzzle him?" The beetle asked.

Son Goku raised a tea cup to his mouth, "We tried, but he kept chewing through it."

The family of Tailed-beasts laughed loudly, all except Shukaku, who the humor was lost on, "What's so funny? Did someone get squished?"

"Children," Said an aged voice from inside the hut, "Let us not fight in front of our newest guest." Naruto looked up at the door to see three figures walking out. One was a portly man dressed in green with a wide smile on his face as he brought out a fresh tray of tea and cakes. Following him were two strange beings. Both had identical horns on their heads, and grey skin. Naruto recognized the Sage of Six Paths and his brother smiling at him. "Greeting's, Naruto. It's soo good to see you again."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Naruto enters the unwittingly enters the spirit and is reunited with friends and family he thought were gone forever, only to meet with the one person that could answer his questions. As Kurama finishes his tale, Korra leaves in a rage over Naruto's treatment as a child. Now the question is, what does the Sage have in store for Naruto?<strong>_

_**Don't forget to review!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Do I know what I'm doing?...Absolutely not XD**_

_**6: Spirits, Sages, and Headaches**_

"Should we wake him?" Korra asked as she and the others stood around the blond. "I mean, he's been like this for a while now." Kurama moved up to the blond, and nudged him.

"Hmm, he's not home," the fox said, "I've never known him to get this deep into meditation before."

Tenzin knelt beside the boy, "Perhaps he's entered the spirit world. It's possible to do so, but it normally takes years of training. To bea ble to do it at such a young age is extraordinary."

Kurama huffed, "He's delt with spirits before. Remember I told you he was nearly killed when I was taken from him? He was basically in a half-dead state that allowed him to speak with my father. Also, while he was a ninja back in our world, he was able to summon battle spirits. Toads, but nothing else. But they lived in a mountain range, not in the spirit world."

Pemma looked worried, "Is it safe to stay in the spirit world for so long?"

Tenzin shrugged, "I've never been, but Father always went there. He told me it was a wonderful place, and often went to there to think. But he also said it could be very dangerous for people that didn't know about the spirit world."

Kurama gave the man a look that agreed with his statement, "When I crossed the void into the spirit realm, it was very dangerous. Back in the land of fire, it was always filled with angry spirits that were killed in the wars. Angry spirits like that are what become true demons."

Jinora came up beside the young man and touched his shoulder, "I don't think we should worry...look, he's smiling!"

"He is?" Kurama asked, looking at the boy's face, and sure enough, there was a gentle smile on the boy's lips, and something else. There was a small trail from the corner of his left eye.

=x=

Back in the spirit world, Naruto was having trouble proccessing what was happening. The miniaturized Tailed-beasts were one thing, arguing over who stole who's sweets and all, but Hagoromo and Hamura arguing back and forth were another.

"I'm telling you this was not a good idea in the first place!" Hamura snapped at his brother, "The ways of Ninshu turned to nothing but more bloodshed in the end!"

Hagoromo calmly sipped his tea, "I assure you, Brother, that this time will be different. Naruto did indeed share his chakra with the united forces, and, in doing so, revived the old ways."

"And right after that, that idiot boy tried to kill him!" Hamura argured back. It was the funnies thing Naruto had ever seen. Two...beings arguing, one of them calm, and the other ready to tear the other's head off, "Face it, bringing your ideals to this world is worse than what I did to this one in the beginning!"

"Um, guys?" Naruto tried to gain their attention.

"Oh, come now, surely you don't still regret the ordeal with that dark spirit?" Hagoromo asked, looking surprised, "Look how everything turned out. You have a lovely modern world where everything is...moderately peaceful."

"Oh, yes, moderately peaceful," Hamura sighed, then removed the cup from his brother's hands, "Have you noticed, that, after seventy lovely years of peace, things are starting to turn bad again?"

"Which is exactly why I brought young Naruto here," Hagoromo retreaved his cup with a slight tug, "You must have seen he has the power to change people from this side of this side of here?"

"I did," Hamura said, crossing his arms, "But he only changed the people he came into contact with, which were all influencial people to begin with. You're asking him to change an entire world for heaven's sake!"

"Guys?" Naruto tried again, only to duck under a flung pastry flung by Shukaku toward Gyuki. "Hey, knock if off ya crazy raccoon!"

"Gyuki started it!" Shukaku shrilled.

"Did not!" Gyuki flung an empty tea cup at him.

The bearded man that was their host caught it with practiced ease, "Now, now, children shouldn't fight in front of family." The man chuckled and filled the cup to hand back to the Eight-tails.

"Sorry, Uncle Iroh," Shukaku mumbled childishly. Naruto grinned shakily. Out of all the Tailed-beasts, Shukaku was, as far as he knew, was the youngest, and most volatile. Now he was really acting like a child.

He looked at his parents and godfather, calmly drinking their own tea, "Is it always like this?"

"Worse," Minato sighed.

"Normally we could go all day without incident," Jiraiya said, smirking.

"But since the Tailed-beasts joined us here," Kushina giggled, "Things have gotten a little crazy."

Naruto dodged another pastry, "This is a little?" He asked as the cake hit Matatabi square in the face. The cat launched herself at Shukaku, rolling them both away from the table.

"Miss Tabi, you'll miss the sweet rolls!" Iroh called after her.

"Save me some, please!" She yelled back, "I suddenly need a new scratching post!"

"Oh, brother," Chomei sighed, "Why couldn't I have been an only child?"

"Dunno," Kokuo said from his spot on the ground, "Ask Father."

"Remind me again why I came here?" Naruto grumbled, "Not that I'm not happy to see you guys," he said looking at his family, "But this...whole things seems stupid. Why was I even brought to this world?"

Naruto noticed that the two brothers had stopped arguing, and both were looking at the blond. Hamura sighed, "Alright, I suppose I should be the one to explain my dear brother's hair-brained scheme."

"It's not that bad, is it?" Hagoromo asked.

Hamura rolled his eyes, "Anyway. Naruto, the reason you were brought here, initially, is because that battle you were in would have cost both you and Sasuke your lives, restarting the cycle once more- "

"But I had him dead to rights!" Naruto snapped.

"Let me finish!" Hamura snapped, "Now, as I was saying, the chain of hatred would have gone on once more, and the next time both myself and my brother feared the worst if it were to happen again. So we both pulled you here, in hopes of you recovering and facing Sasuke again, and resolving this curse. But...there was one, minor detail a certain someone overlooked," he cast a pointed glance at his brother who sweated a little.

"It was an easy mistake." Hagoromo said, "We're not gods you know."

"Hmph," Hamura huffed, "What he means is that only one of you can return."

"One of me..." Naruto said, and something clicked that he didn't like, "You mean Sasuke's here too?!"

"Afraid so," both brothers said.

Naruto's eye twitched ina familiar way that both Jiraiya and Minato recognized. "GRAB HIM!" Not a moment too soon, Naruto was tackled and held down as he tried to launch himself at the two spirits.

"YOU IDIOTS!" Naruto shouted, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE?!"

"Somewhat," Hagoromo joked, hoping to ease the tension, to which he failed...miserably.

"That guy was on a killing spree when I fought him!" Naruto roared, "He was hell bent on killing everyone that stood in his way, and you brought him here, with me!?"

"He isn't awake yet," Hamura said, trying comfort the boy, "he will appear three, perhaps four years from now, while you train, and grow stronger."

Naruto growled, trying to calm himself, "Alright, let me up!"

Minato and Jiraiya shared a look, "You sure about that?" Jiraiya asked the boy.

"Get off my back, or I'll throw you off!" Naruto snapped, "You're both frickin' heavy, believe it!"

=x=

"Why is his eye twitchin like that?" Ikki asked, "Dad does that when he's mad. Do you think he's mad now? Wonder who he's mad at?"

Kurama plugged his fingers in his ears, "Girl, don't you know when to button up?"

Korra bent down to have a look, "She's right, he does look a little upset." Naruto's right eye was twitchin furiously for some reason, and there was a visilbe frown on his face.

Tenzin bent down as well, "Hmm, he must have angered a spirit."

"Or the other way around," Kurama said, "I've seen this kid get a fight with a giant toad before."

=x=

Naruto was indeed angry. For a mulititude of reasons. The first and foremost being that his fight wasn't over. Far from it. "One of you better explain this to me, before I shove my Rasenshuriken down your throats!"

"Well I just told you that you would face Sasuke again," Hamura said.

"What about the part about only one of us going home!?" Naruto snapped, "Explain that!"

"Simple, when we brought you here, we only intended for you to come, and Sasuke to be stuck in limbo, thus ending the conflict as he would be trapped in an endless sleep," Hagoromo said, "As it happens, since you two shared a similar chakra, the chakra being the sealing technique you used on our mother, Sasuke was also drawn to this world, but Hamura and I were able to stall him. So right now, he has yet to appear."

"The portal we opened was only meant to carry one soul," Hamura interceded, "But since Sasuke was also brought over, the portal was damaged, and is now very fragile. We've both tried to repair the damage, but it is beyond us. As Hagoromo said, we are not gods in any right."

Naruto nodded to this, "Okay, so why can't you just keep Sasuke in limbo like you planned? What's wrong with that?"

"We already explained that," Hamura said, "It's because of the bond your chakras share. Those seals are meant to be attracted to one another, so the draw of that seal will call out to its...well, brother, so to speak."

Naruto scrubbed his hands through his hair, "Great...wonderful...fan-fucking-tastic!"

"Naruto, your language!" Kushina chided. But then she sighed in sympathy, "But I can understand where you're coming from. We were all torn away from something we love. And now the only way you can go back is to fight a former friend again."

"Can't you just send him back through without Sasuke?" Minato asked, "Surely the same effect would apply?"

"No, unfortunately not," Hagoromo said, "As I said, the two of the coming through together damaged the spirit portal. If either of us sent him back now, then it would shatter. Killing him, and Sasuke, and trapping both souls in limbo for all of enternity."

"So we tried to by him as much time as possible to prepare himself for the battle," Hamura said, "But, in that time, Hagoromo had the foolish notion to have Naruto teach his old ways to the people here. But that would only cause more chaos."

"I don't see how?" Hagoromo shrugged, "Here we have a world where people use Yin chakra to help them bend the elements to their will. It's not like you we created this world similar to our old one."

"Wait a minute," Naruto held up his hands, "You made this world? I thought you said you weren't gods!"

"Naruto, I created the moon to seal my mother and the body of the Ten-tails," Hagoromo said, "While it's a bit larger than the moon, a planet this size is not such a hard thing. As for the people, that was far more troublesome. Both Hamura and I had to ferry lost souls through the spirit world and to the afterlife. Some of those souls...well, far too many of them, happened to be children no older than a few days. So we created a peaceful little world where the spirits would look after them, and let the children be born anew instead of reincarnating them back into a ruthless world of war."

"And look how that turned out," Hamura sighed, "So many have suffered because I didn't try to intervene with Wan. Especially the Avatar."

"It's not really our place to interfere with something like that," Hagoromo said.

"Oh no?" Hamura raised a brow at his brother, "If I were to liken Naruto and Sasuke's clash with that of Raavah and Vatu?"

"Clearly very different," Hagoromo huffed.

"Okay, that's enough," Naruto said, "I think I get the fact that I'm stuck here for a while because you two chuckleheads - "

"Chuckleheads?" The brothers ground out.

" - But what is this whole thing about me teaching people here Ninjutsu, Hagoromo? If things are as bad as you make them out to b, wouldn't that make it worse?"

"Not to a select few it wouldn't." Hagoromo said, "As you've probably guessed by now, your new companion, Korra, is much like yourself, as she has a great burden on her shoulders. She could use your help."

"She's a pretty good fighter, Geeze, so I wouldn't wanna bet against her," he said, "But I still don't know about this. Sure, I'd teach a few if they wanted to learn, but if things went so bad when you died, won't that have the same effect in this world."

"I wouldn't think so," Hagoromo said with a shrug, "The Elemental Natios were once divided because of the Hundred Year War, now they are united, save for a small faction of anti-Bending activists that hope to make Bending illegal, even though it is a birth given skill to many. More and more benders are born each day, and soon this will turn into a genocide much like the Uchiha massacre was. Only much, much worse."

Hamura sighed, "I know we're asking much of you, Naruto, but the truth is the people here need you. While I do not like the idea of introducing Ninjutsu to this land, I would understand if you wanted to pass on your teachings to Korra at least. She has yet to master air, I believe, and with the gifts given to you by the Tailed-beasts, then you should have ample strength to face Sasuke when the time comes."

"Meaning this time, I really have to kill him if I want to go home," Naruto sighed.

"No," Hamura said, "If you reconcile peacefully and one of you decided to stay - "

"Doubtful," Jiraiya said, "That kid was always meaner than a snake after he left the Leaf village."

"Yeah, and I've got the scars to prove it," Naruto said, point a thumb at his chest, "I still have marks from his Chidori."

Hagoromo sighed, "I suppose that you will do what you must. As it stands, with the chakra of all nine Tailed-beasts inside you, you will have Kurama and Gyuki's advanced healing abilities, as well as the ability to regenerate limbs thanks to Gyuki. Son and Kokuo will help you with your raw strength, as well as Boil and Lava release techniques. Shukaku and Matatabi are more elemental than anything else. Shukaku will provide you with control over sand as his previous container had. Matatabi's fire based chakra will provide you strength to both Son and Kokuo's gifts. And Chomei will and Saikon will give you an endurance to most poisons, as well as Chomei's wind based chakra giving more power to your own."

"Okay, but what about this bending thing?" Naruto asked, "I've been doing the mathin in my head so far after you said all that, and Kurama said that since my primary element was wind, I was, and am an Airbender, but what about the others?" He pointed to the other beasts, "Will I be able to control other elements like Korra can?"

Hamura smiled and nodded to him, "Very astute of you. The answer is yes, though you will have more difficulty with it than she does, master of the elements will be within your grasp."

THUNK

Hamura and the other were surprised when Naruto clunked his head on the table, "I...take it this doesn't sit well with you?"

"No, no, it's just that ever since this whole thing started, it feels like I'm less human than when I nearly turned into the Nine-tails." Naruto groaned.

Kushina giggled and rose, "You're probably more human than anyone I know. Now come along. You should be heading back, I'm sure Korra is worried about you." There was a happy little blush to her cheeks as she picked her son up from the table, "and don't worry, Dear, you can come back here anytime you like to see me and your father. And I'll even try to convince Hiruzen to come down for a visit. How's that sound?"

Naruto grinned at the thought of seeing the old Hokage again, "That'd be great."

=x=

Kurama was tappin his foot impatiently, "How long has he been in there!" He growled. "It's not like he needs all day to meditate!" Ikki reached over and started petting him, setting his fur on the rise.

"It's only been a couple of hours," she said to the irritated fox.

"Hmm, yes, but Kurama is right. Staying in the spirit world for too long can have an adverse effect on the body. A day or so, and he would be in danger." Tenzin said, stroking his beard in thought, "Perhaps it would be best to - "

At that moment, Naruto's eyes opened, and nearly got the life scared out of him when he found everyone staring at him. "Uh...hey, guys...what's everyone lookin' at?"

"We were worried about you for a little while, there," Korra smiled at him warmly, "You've been meditating for nearly three hours now."

Naruto's eyes widened, "Really?" He asked in wonder, "That long?"

Kurama grumbled and ducked away from Ikki, "Please tell me you found out what's going on?"

Naruto gave the fox a nod, and smiled, "Later. But right now, I think I could use something to eat. I didn't know moving from one world to the next could work up an appetite!"

Korra grinned and offered her hand, "Come on, let's get some lunch and then we can talk to Tenzin about Airbending lessons."

Of course, as the troupe moved toward the main building, none of them took the time to look up as eight small creatures watched them go. The smallest of the group giggled, "This is gonna be so much fun! I can't wait!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>All I can say is, "Oh boy is Naruto gonna be in for a surprise!"<strong>_


End file.
